Spes Magna Games

I read many threads on Paizo’s Pathfinder messageboards. I don’t respond to most of what I read, in large part because I simply cannot relate to the topics. Chief among these topics are the threads about the lack of rule clarity (usually accompanied by demands that one of Paizo’s developers respond with an official ruling), complaints about changes to the rules (often accompanied by demands that Paizo rescind the change), and complaints that certain rules ought to be changed (some even accompanied by demands that official changes be made).

As I said, I just can’t relate to these sorts of topics. Almost always, my response would be, “Quit whining and play the game.” Since that sort of response isn’t terribly helpful and isn’t likely to be well received, I leave the thread without the questionable benefit of my wisdom, feeling for a time somewhat sad that it seems as if so many RPGers spend so much time arguing about these sorts of issues instead of playing the game.

What I especially cannot relate to are the widespread demands that the game’s developers take time out of their days to personally respond with Official Rulings. Now, to be sure, this attitude isn’t new. Way back in the day, before there was an Internet or messageboards, Dragon magazine, for example, regularly featured “Sage Advice”, a Q&A column wherein AD&D‘s experts answered questions from readers about the rules. Then, a few issues later, other writers would complain in the letters column about those answers. So, it was sort of like Paizo’s messageboards, only a lot slower and with better grammar and spelling.

Also, to be fair, there is one segment of the Paizo on-line “community” that gets riled about these sorts of issues, and with cause, these folks being those involved in organized play. These sorts of game require a uniform understanding of the rules to help ensure that characters are indeed portable from one GM to the next without those characters’ abilities, spells, magic items, et cetera, changing due to varying GM interpretations.

So, organized play players, I’m not talking about or to you. Instead I’m talking to/about all the other gamers who are more like me, playing in nonorganized play games in someone’s home on a more or less regular schedule with more or less the same people each time.

Let’s say your situation is like mine. You play with the same GM most of the time in the same campaign. One of your players runs a Zen archer monk, and he’s read about the recent clarifications from Paizo about the monk’s flurry of blows ability. He expresses concern about how this rule change will affect his character, especially after reading all the posts about how Zen archer monks are now unplayable and that the change definitively “nerfs” the archetype’s primary ability. What’s the GM’s best response?

“I don’t care what Paizo changed. Keep running your Zen archer monk just like before,” the GM responds bestly.

This same principle applies to questions about vague rules, rules that should be changed, et cetera. The players of the game in that particular campaign get together and come up with a solution that works for that group. That solution then becomes the only official ruling that particular gaming group needs.

I’m sure the Paizo staff are nice people. I’ve corresponded with a few of them here and there, and I’ve always found them professional and personable via email. But regardless of how nice, professional, and personable Vic Wertz, Liz Courts, James Jacobs, and other Paizoans are, they don’t run my game. Instead, I run their game, and my players and I change what they’ve published to better suit our preferences.

Tags: A to Z, fun, Pathfinder RPG

O nearly had me stumped. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t think of anything good for O. Orcs were too obvious. Old School? Too ubiquitous. Ovaltine wasn’t really game-related. Then I remembered growing up that my mother wanted an ocelot. She thought they were very pretty animals, and they are, and that it would be cool and adventurous to own one, and I’m imagining it would’ve been at least adventurous. But what to write about ocelots? Game stats? Nah. I could just use the lynx with a few mods.

So, I thought some more. Ocelot…ocelot…ocelot. The “ocel” part of the word started to stick out. Also protruding was the T at the end of the word. From there it was a short mental walk to atlatl. Well, short at least for the way my brain works. At that point, I had two words: ocelot and atlatl. That didn’t seem to accomplish much. After all, I was supposed to be figuring out what to write about ocelots, and instead I end up with a stick-throwing stick.

By this time, I was tired of thinking. Tired of trying. I mean, seriously, this whole A to Z thing was starting to smack of effort. I didn’t really do a good job with N, and for O I’m staring down ocelot and atlatl. Then, it hit me. Why not combine the two?

Thus was born the ocelot atlatl, a weapon used by a Large jungle humanoids that aren’t particularly concerned about developing a reputation for cruelty to animals.

Ocelot Atlatl

The ocelot atlatl is a throwing device consisting of a stick fitted with a socket to steady the butt of an ocelot and extend the velocity and distance it travels when thrown. The Large jungle humanoid places an ocelot in the socket and then propels the frightened, angry feline at an enemy.

Both the ocelot and the victim suffer 2d6 points of damage if the Large jungle humanoid’s attack succeeds. The ocelot falls prone in a randomly determined square adjacent to the victim after impact unless the ocelot succeeds with a DC 15 Acrobatics check, in which case it isn’t prone. If the Large jungle humanoid’s attack fails, the ocelot takes the same damage as it bounces off the ground, et cetera. (Generous GMs can let the ocelot attempt a separate DC 20 Acrobatics check to reduce its damage by 1d6.) The angry, frightened, freshly injured ocelot must attempt a DC 15 Will save upon impact. If it fails, it attempts to flee. Otherwise, it blames the nearest creature for its plight and attacks on its next turn.

Without the ocelot atlatl, a thrown ocelot is an improvised weapon with a range increment of 10 feet. The ocelot atlatl is an exotic weapon. With it, the thrown ocelot is not an improvised weapon and has a range increment of 30 feet. Loading an ocelot in an ocelot atlatl socket is a move-equivalent action.

An ocelot atlatl is a one-handed weapon for a Large creature. It weighs 8 pounds and costs 5 gp.

Tags: A to Z, atlatl, new weapons, ocelot

Sultan Nagendra rules a desert kingdom that controls several important oases and, therefore, controls the trade routes through the region as well. Things were not always so. Decades ago, Nagendra was a desert giant outcast, banished from his tribe because of his too enthusiastic worship of Apep, the Great Serpent. Bound, blindfolded, and weaponless, Nagendra’s people drove him to the Sun’s Anvil, the most terrible part of the desert. Everyone fully expected him to die therein of thirst.

Apep had other plans.

The Great Serpent transformed Nagendra into a terrifying creature of earth and dust and vengeance. When Nagendra emerged from the Sun’s Anvil, he brought with him a zealous tribe of desert giants, forged into a disciplined fighting force ready to enslave and conquer in Nagendra’s and Apep’s names. He first targeted his former tribe, killing or capturing the leaders. Those captured he fought in single combat over several days as a both a spectacle for his followers as well as a demonstration of his personal power. The sons of the leaders were also slain, but the wives and daughters were spared to become his wives. Nagendra then turned his sights on the oases communities, and he handily smashed the defenses of each in turn. Every time, his policy was the same: death to the leaders, but clemency to the people.

Design Notes: I’m skeptical that Nagendra is really CR 20, although that is what the numbers add up to based on base creature, templates, et cetera. He’s tough, but he doesn’t look like CR 20 tough. I really need to compare his relevant numbers to CR 20 baselines and tweak as necessary, but I’ve run out of time if I’m going to N posted before today runs out. Perhaps I’ll revisit Nagendra later.

Sultan Nagendra
Giant Earth-Infused Dust Creature Desert Giant Fighter 2/Serpent Archer 6
CR 20; XP 307,200
LE Huge outsider (air, augmented giant, earth, elemental, extraplanar)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision, tremorsense 20 ft.; Perception +14

DEFENSE
AC 35, touch 13, flat-footed 30 (+8 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +14 natural, -2 size); Mobility
hp 288 (21d10+168)
Fort +19, Ref +15, Will +8 (+9 against fear)
Defensive Abilities air mastery, bravery, rock catching; Immune elemental traits, fire

OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft., burrow 50 ft.
Melee Bastion or Lawbringer +25/+20/+15 (2d6+15/15-20), or
Melee Bastion and Lawbringer +23/+23/+18/+13 (2d6+10/15-20), or
Melee 2 slams +23 (2d6+10), or
Ranged Farbiter +22/+17/+12 (2d8+12/19-20, x3), or
Ranged Farbiter +20/+20/+14/+9 (2d8+12/19-20, x3), or
Ranged rock +19 (2d6+10), or
Ranged 2 rocks +17/+17 (2d6+10)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks exude dust, grounded, rock throwing (100 ft.), sand blast, scimitar training, serpent arrow

TACTICS
Nagendra’s forte is delivering a gob of damage whether in melee or at range.

* Bastion is a +3 defending scimitar. Nagendra typically boosts his AC by +2 when fighting with it. Lawbringer is a +1 axiomatic scimitar. It deals a bonus 2d6 points of damage against chaotic creatures. Nagrenda’s attack stats above do not include the modifiers for these weapons.
* Farbiter is a +2 distance composite longbow [Str +10]. It has a 220-foot range increment.
* Nagendra almost always exudes dust in combat. This surrounds him in a stationary 20-foot radius of blinding dust (see below).
* When full attacking but not using Rapid Shot, Nagendra uses Manyshot. This adds 2d8 for the additional arrow with his first shot.
* If Nagendra uses Deadly Aim with any ranged attack, apply a -4 attack roll penalty and add +8 damage for each missile.
* If he uses Improved Vital Strike with any single attack, roll the damage three times; then add Strength, et cetera, the extra damage for Devastating Strike. Here’s a breakdown: two-handed scimitar (2d6+21 plus 4d6), one-handed scimitar (2d6+16 plus 4d6), slam (2d6+16 plus 4d6), longbow (2d8+6 plus 4d8), or rock (2d6+16 plus 4d6). Nagendra uses Improved Vital Strike in combination with Shot on the Run.
* Nagendra is highly mobile. He uses his normal speed, burrowing, and airborne abilities to keep from being pinned down, maintain advantageous positioning, et cetera. Whenever Nagendra takes a move action, he relies on Improved Vital Strike and Devastating Strike to keep his damage output high.

STATISTICS
Str 31, Dex 18, Con 26, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base Atk +17; CMB +29; CMD 44 (48 vs. disarm and sunder with scimitars)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Deadly Aim, Devastating Strike, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (longbow) (B), Improved Critical (scimitar), Improved Vital Strike (B), Iron Will (B), Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run (B), Two-Weapon Fighting, Vital Strike (B), Weapon Focus (longbow)
Skills Handle Animal +15 (+18 with snakes), Intimidate +32, Perception +14, Stealth +12, Survival +18; Racial Modifier +4 Stealth
Languages Auran, Common, Giant, Terran
SQ airborne, sandwalking, snake charmer, snake poison

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Air Mastery (Ex): Any airborne creature takes a –1 penalty on attack and damage rolls against Nagendra.

Airborne (Su): At will, Nagendra can walk on air as though with an air walk spell. In addition, he always falls as if affected by a feather fall spell. When falling, Nagendra can be moved on the wind as noted in the description of the air walk spell.

Burrow (Ex): Nagendra can burrow through rock at half speed, and he does not leave a tunnel behind when it burrows.

Craft Snake Salve (Su): Nagendra can concoct snake salve. He can make this magic item as if he met all of the prerequisites, and his caster level for creating this item is equal to his serpent archer class level. When under the influence of snake salve (or a magic fang spell), Nagendra’s snake arrow is treated as a weapon with the enhancement bonus the spell provides (so a snake-arrow with a +1 enhancement bonus to its bite from snake salve is treated as a +1 arrow).

Exude Dust (Su): At will as a free action, Nagendra can exude a cloud of dust that surrounds his body. This cloud functions like an obscuring mist spell, except all dust creatures can see through it normally. Any other creature caught within in the cloud must succeed on a DC 29 Reflex save or be blinded by the stinging dust. (The save DC is Constitution-based.) Success indicates that the creature closed or otherwise covered its eyes before the dust could affect them. The creature must keep its eyes closed or covered while within the dust cloud or risk blindness. A creature that enters the dust cloud with its eyes closed or covered need not make a save against blindness unless it opens its eyes while within the dust cloud. A creature blinded by Nagendra’s cloud of dust regains its sight 1d4 rounds after its last exposure to a dust cloud with its eyes open. Blinding exposure of even a single eye blinds all eyes supernaturally.

Grounded (Ex): While in contact with the earth, Nagendra gains a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls for melee attacks.

Sand Blast (Su): At will as a standard action, a dust creature can emit an abrasive jet of dust-filled wind that damages objects and other creatures. This wind takes the form of a 5-foot-wide, 20-foot long line that causes 10d4 points of slashing damage. Any creature caught within the area may attempt a DC 29 Reflex save for half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Sandwalking (Ex): A desert giant travels at full speed across sand, rocky ground, or dust, and leaves no trail behind unless it chooses to.

Scimitar Training (Ex): All desert giants are proficient with scimitars, and can wield them as if they were light weapons. A desert giant adds its full Strength bonus to attacks made with a scimitar wielded in its off hand, and gains a +4 bonus to CMD versus disarm and sunder attempts when fighting with a scimitar in each hand.

Serpent Arrow (Su): Nagendra may remove a Medium snake from a container (similar to drawing an arrow or bolt from a quiver) and pull its body straight and stiff, suitable for firing from a bow (longbow, shortbow, composite longbow, or composite shortbow) or crossbow (light or heavy). Nagendra can draw and straighten snakes as a free action up to 6 times per round; otherwise, doing so is a move-equivalent action. When fired from a bow in this manner, the snake deals normal damage for the bow. If the snake is a poisonous snake, it also injects the target with poison as if he had been bitten by the snake. After being fired in this manner, the snake is stunned for 1 round (normally falling to the ground at the feet of the target). Once the snake recovers, it continues to attack the target.

If not fired, a drawn snake relaxes from its stiffened state after one round.

Snake Charmer (Ex): Nagendra especially intuitive when dealing with normal snakes and thus receives a morale bonus on all Handle Animal checks when dealing with normal snakes equal to 1/2 his serpent archer level (minimum +1).

Snake Poison (Ex): Nagendra is familiar with handling snakes and dealing with snake venom. He never risks accidentally poisoning himself when handling snakes he has tamed.

GEAR
Bastion (+3 defending scimitar), Farbiter (+2 distance composite longbow [Str +10]), Lawbringer (+1 axiomatic scimitar), +5 studded leather, plus 65,000 gp of other gear selected from the royal armories and treasuries, depending on the situation. Nagendra almost always carries a sack full of Medium venomous snakes.

Tags: A to Z, NPCs, Pathfinder monsters

I’ve always liked monks. All the way back to 1E, I’ve liked monks. I liked the 1E Player’s Handbook, and I really liked the 1E monk presented in an issue of Dragon that I still have buried away somewhere in my library (but that I’m too lazy right now to look for). 1E’s Oriental Adventures also had a great monk, especially considering the DIY martial arts rules contained in that book.

Sure, there are so-called purists who object to having Asian-style mystic martial artists muddying up the pristine waters of their medieval Europe simulationist campaigns. They can leave the monk out easier than most gamers could make up a monk class to include in their games had the various designers down through the years not already done so. So, while I can appreciate the devotion to genre that would exclude monks from a campaign, I don’t think that monks should be excluded from the game per se. (I’m of the same opinion about psionics; if you don’t like them, don’t use them, but don’t expect my gaming choices to be constrained by your preferences, and vice versa, but I digress.)

A quick search of threads over at the Paizo Pathfinder boards reveals what appears to be widespread dissatisfaction with monks as they’re currently designed. I think this dissatisfaction isn’t really that widespread, but instead is driven by a rather small number of people whose complaints about the monk range from astute to zany. As for me, I think the monk is generally a fine class, but I would make a few small tweaks.

Let’s start with some boilerplate fluff text:

For the truly exemplary, martial skill transcends the battlefield—it is a lifestyle, a doctrine, a state of mind. These warrior-artists search out methods of battle beyond swords and shields, finding weapons within themselves just as capable of crippling or killing as any blade. These monks (so called since they adhere to ancient philosophies and strict martial disciplines) elevate their bodies to become weapons of war, from battle-minded ascetics to self-taught brawlers. Monks tread the path of discipline, and those with the will to endure that path discover within themselves not what they are, but what they are meant to be.

Role: Monks excel at overcoming even the most daunting perils, striking where it’s least expected, and taking advantage of enemy vulnerabilities. Fleet of foot and skilled in combat, monks can navigate any battlefield with ease, aiding allies wherever they are needed most.

Just as I think that a character’s background fluff should drive that character’s crunchy game mechanic choices, so too do I think that a class’s features should dovetail nicely with that class’s descriptive text. The PF monk fits his described role well. He is mobile and able to utilize combat maneuvers to put enemies at a disadvantage. In these respects, the monk does seem to be an artist of things martial. Where I see the monk falling down a bit is in some klunky rules text, specifically flurry of blows, which should be the monk’s signature attack ability.

Flurry of Blows (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When doing so he may make one additional attack using any combination of unarmed strikes or attacks with a special monk weapon (kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham) as if using the Two-Weapon Fighting feat (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat). For the purpose of these attacks, the monk’s base attack bonus from his monk class levels is equal to his monk level. For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus.

At 8th level, the monk can make two additional attacks when he uses flurry of blows, as if using Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).

At 15th level, the monk can make three additional attacks using flurry of blows, as if using Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).

A monk applies his full Strength bonus to his damage rolls for all successful attacks made with flurry of blows, whether the attacks are made with an off-hand or with a weapon wielded in both hands. A monk may substitute disarm, sunder, and trip combat maneuvers for unarmed attacks as part of a flurry of blows. A monk cannot use any weapon other than an unarmed strike or a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows. A monk with natural weapons cannot use such weapons as part of a flurry of blows, nor can he make natural attacks in addition to his flurry of blows attacks.

I don’t like these rules. They’re unnecessarily complicated simply by virtue of making flurry of blows work like the Two-Weapon Fighting feat chain, which itself is unnecessarily complicated. I would prefer something a bit easier to figure out, such as, from 1st-7th levels, a monk can make one additional attack using any combination of unarmed strikes or attacks with a special monk weapon, and all such attacks suffer a -2 penalty. At 8th level, the monk gets two additional attacks, all with a -2 penalty. At 15th level, he gets three additional attacks, all at a -2 penalty. Now remove the line about the monk’s BAB from his monk class being equal to his monk level with these attacks. Thus, a 6th-level monk can make one attack with a +4 BAB or two attacks with a +2 BAB each (instead of flurrying for +4/+4/-1).

Next, take an idea from Trailblazer by Bad Axe Games, and give the monk a “centered bonus” that applies when a monk is not wearing armor, not using a shield, not carrying more than light load, and not using a weapon other than those listed above. This centered bonus applies to attack rolls as a competence bonus. From 1st through 4th level, the bonus is +1; 5th through 8th, +2; 9th through 12th, +3; 13th through 16th, +4; and 17th or higher, +5.

Back to that 6th-level monk: Without a STR bonus or any other adjustments, his flurry of blows attack bonuses are +4/+4 (including the centered bonus) for two attacks using his unarmed strikes, monk weapons, and/or designated combat maneuvers. At 12th level, he’d be flurrying for +10/+10/+10/+10 (including the +3 centered bonus).

Tags: A to Z, flurry of blows, monks, Pathfinder RPG

One of the many things on my overcrowded plate is preparing for Texicon near the end of July. I’ve committed to running two different events, “Metro Gnomes” using Dyson Logos’s inspired Geodesic Gnomes and “Castronegro” using a mashup of Beyond Belief Games‘s Go Fer Yer Gun! and Chaosium‘s Call of Cthulhu (CoC). While reviewing the rules for the latter game, I was re-introduced to the concept of the Luck roll.

In CoC, players make Luck rolls frequently, usually to determine which character is the least lucky and, therefore, suffers some sort of horrible fate. For example, when walking by a mirror that sometimes shows glimpes of Things Best Left Unseen, the investigators must be lucky enough to not briefly see reality for what it really is. Investigators whose Luck rolls don’t pass the test end up having their psyches scarred (and Sanity scores lowered). Other times, investigators whose Luck rolls succeed end up stumbling upon something beneficial, such as luckily noticing that the ceiling of the ghoul-dug tunnel beneath the graveyard is about to collapse, enabling the investigator just enough time to avoid being crushed by tons of earth, rock, coffins, and corpses.

What might Luck look like in Pathfinder? Well, how about making Luck an ability score? Let’s look at a brand new, 20-point buy wizard:

STR 10 for 0 points
DEX 13 for 3 points
CON 14 for 5 points
INT 14 for 5 points
WIS 12 for 2 points
CHA 10 for 0 points
LUC 14 for 5 points

Since he’s human, he adds his +2 racial bonus to Intelligence, ending up with these ability scores:

STR 10 (+0), DEX 13 (+1), CON 14 (+2), INT 16 (+3), WIS 12 (+1), CHA 10 (+0), LUC 14 (+2)

Which is all fine and dandy, but now we have to figure out what LUC does for our wizard.

What LUC Does

LUC represents the degree to which cosmic forces, karma, the gods, Lady Fortune, et cetera, smile upon a character. During the course of a game session, a character’s LUC can affect any dice roll the character’s player makes. The player decides to apply the LUC bonus after rolling but before the GM reveals the results of the roll.

At the start of the game session, give each player tokens of some sort, one token per +1 of LUC bonus. (For now, ignore LUC penalties; I’ll get to those below.) Whenever a player wants to apply his character’s LUC bonus to the dice, he must surrender one token. The bonus to the dice equals the total number of tokens the player has prior to surrendering one token. For example, our wizard has a +2 LUC bonus. The player gets two LUC tokens at the start of the game session. The wizard is forced to roll a Fortitude save, and the player isn’t quite sure about his total of 15. He adds +2 from LUC, and surrenders one LUC token. When a player is out of tokens, his character is out of LUC for that game session.

By the way, the bonus from LUC is a luck bonus. It doesn’t stack with other luck bonuses. Of course, since LUC is an ability score, it can be improved via the ability score bump characters get every four levels. You could even design magic items and spells to provide temporary LUC boosts (clover of good luck +2 and rabbit’s luck, anyone?).

Unlucky Characters

A character with a negative LUC modifier is unlucky. For every point of negative LUC modifier, the GM gets one unLUC token at the start of the game session. The GM’s collection of unLUC tokens form his pool of misfortune. The GM gets to use his unLUC tokens for a variety of effects during the game session:

* Have a Monster/NPC Act Out of Turn: For one unLUC token, a single monster or NPC can take its turn immediately. This is treated as a readied action, changing the affected creature’s initiative as appropriate. The monster/NPC can take only a move or standard action using this option.

* Bonus to Dice Roll: The unLUC token grants a luck bonus to a single roll of the dice. If declared before the dice are rolled, it adds +2 per PC the monster/NPC faces. If declared after the dice roll, it grants one-half this bonus.

* Extra Action: A monster/NPC can gain an additional standard or move action for one unLUC token.

* Recall: For one unLUC token, a monster/NPC can regain one use of an expended ability, such as a cast spell. This affects only abilities that are recharged on a daily basis.

* Second Wind: One monster/NPC immediately regains 1 hit point per Hit Die per PC being faced. For example, a 4th-level half-orc antipaladin fighting four PCs could regain 16 hit points for one unLUC token (4 HD times 4 PCs = 16 hit points). Hit points above the creature’s normal maximum hit points are ignored.

The GM can spend any number of unLUC tokens in one round for any combination of effects, but no single effect can be applied to any one monster/NPC more than once. For example, a GM could spend three unLUC tokens to give that antipaladin the benefits of Bonus to Dice Roll, Extra Action, and Second Wind.

Pushing Your LUC

Any character, even one with a negative LUC modifier, can decide to push his LUC. Pushing his LUC grants an additional +2 luck bonus to the affected dice roll without any extra cost in LUC tokens. A character with no or a negative LUC modifier gets a total +2 luck bonus. The downside is that the GM immediately gets to add one unLUC token to his pool of misfortune.

Tags: A to Z, ability scores, game play, luck